Scalemaster Softline 150 Non Electric Water Softener

I bought this softener to replace a Harvey Homewater that had given good service for twelve and a half years, but then failed. I was keen to go with another non electric softener and went with the Scalemaster as it appeared good value.

The Scalemaster works intermittently, soft water for four or five days and then, as the BWT drop test result states, water that is 'slightly to moderately hard, softener desirable' for a similar period of time. I thought that it must be a faulty machine so contacted the company and they sent out their engineer. The extent of his assessment was that it was working correctly, basically saying that we're stuck with it and there's nothing he can do.

I greatly regret buying the Scalemaster. I hope this review prevents others from making the same mistake.

We are based in South Uk where we have hard water so we bought Scalemaster Softline 150 about 4 years ago for about £550 and it was installed on mains as per manual instructions. It was working fine until 3 months ago, when we noticed gradual drop in water pressure on taps and then yellowish/brown sand like (resin) started to appear in water from taps. We switched to bypass mode and presto - water pressure got to usual normal levels again. As it was still under 5 warranty we contacted Scalemaster and their immediate reply without sending anyone to check the unit, was that failure was due to Resin Contamination by high levels of Chlorine and is outside of their warranty. Ok Resin Contamination is stated in their manual as outside warranty, however it is not explained what causes it and how to mitigate it (switch to bypass mode). Scalemaster representative explain it to you when that happens at which point is too late, and they offer to replace resin in your water softener for additional £190! The information about Resin Contamination is on their portal, however you need to well look for it! Anyway the story goes: Chlorine levels are ad-hoc increased by Water companies after they done some maintenance on water pipes. When they do it is outside of householder knowledge, so there is no chance to mitigate this happening. Simple google search how long the resin should last answer is 10 years , however in my case it was 4.

So I contacted few 3rd party/independent water softener service companies who explained that Scalemaster is very likely using lower quality of resin than the resin found in more expensive products i.e. likes of Harveys or Kinetico ,whose products would withstand exposure to Chlorine and guarantee 10 years. Hence i am not willing to pay £190 that gives me only 4 years. Moneywise it doesn't make sense and i would be better off getting

I am not suggesting a specific brand here, however the statement "Buy cheap, buy twice" well sums up the Scalemaster Softline 150 product.

I would not recommend to buy it and rather look to spend more on reliable water softener products out there.

I bought And got installed 150 Scale master water softener in June 2018, worked very well just over a year, then trouble started, as it works on water pressure, it started sticking. Suddenly there is no water through softener throughing all water throughing overflow. As it is 5 years guaranteed called for service. Now they keep coming and blaming low water pressure in the area or in the house. I got affinity water to check water pressure. They said all ok no problem with the water pressure. Now water softener service people 4 time come, unable to sought out the problem. Now the start saying it’s a Low pressure Problem in the house. Then how come it worked over a year with no problem. Water pressure was the same all the time. Now they giving up saying last time we come, if it’s still happening, we can’t do anything. I think non electric water softener is no use. I will not recommend to anybody none electric water softener.

Excellent product, does exactly what it says it will do. Have used Scalemaster Softline 150 and could never be without it ever again. Easy to use and maintain,USES VERY LESS SALT, Good service. We are very happy with our Scalemaster Softline 150

I bought my first one and while I was away on holiday it started rising in water level and stopped working. When I called scalemaster and told them.that I had a three month old unit they told me the reason was probably installation error and no warranty claim was available. I bought my second unit, installed by a qualified plumber and this has broken down in 6 months. Dont buy this product.

Worked fine until I went away for 5 days to come home to the sound of rushing water. Nearly fell over when I read my water meter. Disconnected unit and contacted Scalemaster who advised it needed a service.

They blamed the fault on debris that come in from outside and I was asked to check the filter. The filters mesh had worn away in places. Nowhere is it mentioned you have to check the filter regularly.It actual fact the filter isn't mentioned at all in the manual. They blamed it on chemicals in my water, then debris, all of which my water company deny as it was normal sediment found in pipes. My kettle has a stronger filter than this softener.

Beware if you have one of these and you don't want a nasty bill landing on your door mat.

Call them to see what they advise you to do if you are worried.

Just installed the soft line 150 it fitted into the back of a 500 corner unit easy to install with only 3 connections only been in place for a month but can really notice the washing is much softer etc scale master tec dept very good if you nred any advice on installing would recommend it

I have had our Softline 150 installed for nearly two years now, and so far, it has done what it is supposed to do. We have lovely soft water now, and the salt usage is very reasonable.

Our unit is situated outside, and housed in an insulated wooden box which means we don't lose storage space in the kitchen.

My only gripe is the way the plastic lid fits on the unit - this could be better. Sometimes a little fiddly to get the lugs to sit in the right place.

The electric powered softeners are cheaper than this one generally, but I would not be happy providing a power supply to the unit outside. So the non-electric version is just the job for my circumstances.

I have got rid of my scalemaster soft line 150. After about a year it stopped regenerating itself as often and our water started going hard. When I called in someone from the company to have a look, he used the excuse that we lived in a bungalow and therefor our water pressure was too low. This is complete rubbish as our water pressure from the mains is very good, and these machines are supposed to run from the mains water. I have now got a Twintech which does not need servicing every year, as the Scalemaster needs. Is very reliable and compact, and the top fits a treat where the salt goes in to it, unlike the Scalemaster which had a top that never fitted properly. The worst buy and a complete waste of money, So glad I got rid of the useless thing!!

After seeing one of the previous reviews I felt I had to add my own review as I have had a Softline 150 fitted in my house for about 6 years now. Mine, i suspect is a 'first generation' unit (it's all grey unlike the picture) and had a 2 year parts and labour warranty. I believe that the newer ones do in fact have a 5 year parts and labour warranty, that said I've never had to use the warranty as it's never gone wrong! I have had it serviced in the last year at a cost of £95.00 + vat which also gave me a years parts and labour warranty. When I got the letter booking my service call they do point out quite clearly that warranty covers the softener not installation errors which I think is fair comment. On this point I would also say that I used to have a Waterside 450 electrical softener in my old house which needed an annual service (every year) to maintain the warranty at a cost of £100 + vat + parts! So, which do I think is the better long term softener in both performance and overall running costs? Think I'll stick to my Softline 150!